Seasons Change: Julian’s Saffron Frameworks CX

It’s been both a scorching summer in the southern hemisphere and a severe winter in the northern. To battle against it, Julian requested a CX racer from Saffron Frameworks specifically to deal with the muddiest conditions the UK season could dish out.

Once again, Matthew Sowter — maestro of London’s Saffron Frameworks — delivered Julian a machine perfectly tailored to withstand the mud that was in plentiful supply over last season’s circuit.

Using a mix of Columbus Life and Spirit tubes, Matthew designed a frame with massive clearances around the handmade FMB tyres and a simple-yet-strong SRAM CX 1 group. Fully-housed external cabling will preserve accurate shifting from the elements.

A 44mm head tube, coupled with an ENVE thru-axle disc fork, will ensure front-end stability, revolving perpetually on a Chris King headset. Julian also wanted the option to run the bike in a single speed format, so Paragon Rocker dropouts were used at the rear.

The paint references the colours of Autumn, from orange highlights in the dropout windows and foggy hues to the shades of wet tree trunks and glimpses of sky blues. The experts who applied it were Cole Coatings Workshop, located in South East London.

Splashed over a peaty brown marble, it’s an emotive scheme of colours, but you can be assured that underneath lies Matthew’s perfectly smooth and even fillets. It’s the frame that makes for a competitive race machine, one that hopefully carries Julian to victory.